Does this make helmets worth considering?

[Bicycle]

1. I often go without a helmet.

2. I will continue to do so.

3. I like my family to wear a helmet, but they often go without.

The event:

Training ride with Mrs Bicycle this morning. Country lane, gentle descent at about 23-25 mph.

She was distracted, hit a recessed drain cover and when weight returned to her front wheel it wasn't pointing forward.

She was thrown off the bike and it had the look (but not the same physical causes) of a motorcycling highside.

She went up then landed laterally (feet slightly up) in a sort of foetal crouch.

Once she'd collected herself (it was a big crash) she said she'd landed on the side of her head.

I thought that sounded odd, but not unlikely. I looked at her helmet and there was a series of good wallop marks on one side.

As it is she has the normal road rash on knee, thigh, thumbs etc....

But that dent on the helmet (even though the material is softer than bone) would surely have been the cause of a fairly hurty headache.

As I said above, I'm not a helmet fan. She is. But.... although I've never had a head injury in scores of crashes... I do find that dent in her helmet interesting.

Is it a reason for me to think again?

 

[david k]

1. I often go without a helmet.

2. I will continue to do so.

3. I like my family to wear a helmet, but they often go without.

The event:

Training ride with Mrs Bicycle this morning. Country lane, gentle descent at about 23-25 mph.

She was distracted, hit a recessed drain cover and when weight returned to her front wheel it wasn't pointing forward.

She was thrown off the bike and it had the look (but not the same physical causes) of a motorcycling highside.

She went up then landed laterally (feet slightly up) in a sort of foetal crouch.

Once she'd collected herself (it was a big crash) she said she'd landed on the side of her head.

I thought that sounded odd, but not unlikely. I looked at her helmet and there was a series of good wallop marks on one side.

As it is she has the normal road rash on knee, thigh, thumbs etc....

But that dent on the helmet (even though the material is softer than bone) would surely have been the cause of a fairly hurty headache.

As I said above, I'm not a helmet fan. She is. But.... although I've never had a head injury in scores of crashes... I do find that dent in her helmet interesting.

Is it a reason for me to think again?

well its your choice, make your own mind up. the example you give i consider makes it logical to wear one, so i do

 

[Baggy]

Is there any chance that without the helmet, she wouldn't have knocked her head on the floor (added weight, width etc)?

 

[Baggy]

Oh, and I'm glad to hear Mrs.Bicycle is ok other than cuts and bruises - not a nice thing to happen.

 

[screenman]

If the helmet dented then I would say the head would certainly have hit the ground. Think about it, the helmet weighs very little in comparison to the head. Rotational theories I feel were more about heavier motorcycle helmets than our lightweight one's.

I am sorry to hear she is hurt and I hope she recovers soon fro her injuries, also that she is not put off of cycling again.

 

[Dave W]

I rarely get in to these debates because I find a lot of the arguments against wearing a helmet a bit strange to be honest.

You should think again, a helmet stops you breaking your precious skull and more importantly injuring your brain if it hits the floor.

The negatives are far outweighed by the positives and I always wear a helmet when cycling.

 

[Bicycle]

Are you saying that you hadn't considered this possibility before?

Fair question. I'd considered it, but never to any productive end.

Oddly, I have never hit my head in a fall and had only heard anecdotally of damage to helmets.

But I can't put this one down to anecdote or a biased view. I saw my beloved go skyward and I saw her fall and land like a broken Action Man. It was a most unusual experience.

Later today I was descending fast in a strong sidewind with my third child (age 12, with helmet).

He was howling with laughter afterwards because I was being so 'nannying' during the descent about speed, line, wind, staying loose and all that bollocks.

I think the incident this morning has altered my attitude in a way that debate and data never could.

I'm still anti-compulsion and think it unlikely it will come to pass... but I might be wearing a helmet more than I did.

 

[numbnuts]

I didn't wear a helmet today I was just cleaning my bike

 

[Red Light]

If the helmet dented then I would say the head would certainly have hit the ground. Think about it, the helmet weighs very little in comparison to the head.

A typical cycle helmet adds about 10% to the weight of the head and doubles its area as an impact target i.e. doubles the chance of it hitting something.

 

[Bicycle]

A typical cycle helmet adds about 10% to the weight of the head and doubles its area as an impact target i.e. doubles the chance of it hitting something.

In this case the helmet weighs 230 grammes. If the average adult head weighs 4.5 kilos (often more), I'm seeing something under 10% there. Does anyone really make a cycle helmet that weighs 450 grammes? Does any adult have a head that weighs 2.5 kilos? This is not a posh, lightweight helmet.... I don't see where we're getting the figure of 10%.

As to doubling the area, that sounds fine and dandy. However, in this case the body in flight (which in this case was a body in flight) was travelling head first towards a plane (a metalled road surface).

With that object presented at that angle and at some speed, it was going to be head or helmet that made first contact even in the absence of the latter.

We might argue that in some cases it might double (or at least increase) the chances of hitting something, but in this case (once the body was in flight) it would only have been doubling a probability of 1.

I saw the dents on the side of the helmet. It wasn't a case of feet, elbow, shoulder or hip hitting the deck first if it hadn't been worn. It was a case of jolly hurty headache.

But I'm not a pro-helmet zealot and have no axe to grind here. I just saw what I saw and am now deep in thought about how I will respond.

I value many of the responses I've read to this quandary. I look forward to reading some more.

Knowing my luck, I'll wear a helmet, gloves and a spine protector.... then I'll be killed by a baby tiger falling from a helicopter.

 

[ufkacbln]

The only advice really is that you need to make your own decision.However don't do it now.You are in shock, and will be reacting rather than making a common sense decision Other matters you need to address with perhaps more urgency is how she feels... Getting back on a bike after a crash can need some support and help

 

[david k]

The only advice really is that you need to make your own decision.However don't do it now.You are in shock, and will be reacting rather than making a common sense decision Other matters you need to address with perhaps more urgency is how she feels... Getting back on a bike after a crash can need some support and help

Thats interesting you mention making a common sense decision, something that has in the past been suggested is a weak argument for wearing a helmet. I recal many posts suggesting it was common sense that the world was flat etc

 

[Bicycle]

The only advice really is that you need to make your own decision.However don't do it now.You are in shock, and will be reacting rather than making a common sense decision Other matters you need to address with perhaps more urgency is how she feels... Getting back on a bike after a crash can need some support and help

You are quite right, C.

She's upstairs, liberally coated in Savlon on all the parts where the surface has been rubbed away... and finding new aches every hour or so.

She only started to cycle a few weeks ago and was going great guns (using it as a gym alternative).

She is determined to ride again when better, but right now I'm making lots of cups of tea and fetching things (one foot unable to support her weight).

 

[david k]

You are quite right, C.

She's upstairs, liberally coated in Savlon on all the parts where the surface has been rubbed away... and finding new aches every hour or so.

She only started to cycle a few weeks ago and was going great guns (using it as a gym alternative).

She is determined to ride again when better, but right now I'm making lots of cups of tea and fetching things (one foot unable to support her weight).

i hope she recovers soon

 

[ufkacbln]

<br />Thats interesting you mention making a common sense decision, something that has in the past been suggested is a weak argument for wearing a helmet. I recal many posts suggesting it was common sense that the world was flat etc<br />

&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;<br /><br />This is not a helmet debate<br /><br /><br /><br />Someone has been injured and that is unfortunate. The important thing as I posted is the care and &quot;rehabilitation&quot; of that person<br /><br /> It is important that this learnt from and is dealt  with in a common sense manner as opposed to a knee jerk reaction.Support, encouragement and understanding are the important factors<br /><br />If you wish to twist this into &quot;wearing helmets is common sense&quot; to support your own agenda please do s elsewhere.<br /><br />Your interpretation of my posting to suit your pro- helmet agenda is inappropriate here